Take A Chance
by BuriMaymay
Summary: Ron cheated on Hermione and now she is left with an interesting decision
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: Got the inspiration from the song "Take A Chance On Me" by ABBA. Felt like it fit. Ha ha. Haven't decided if I want to make a sequel or not.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter.

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Ron cheated on her. She couldn't believe it. He _cheated_ on her. She sat at her desk mulling over this as tears rolled down her cheeks. He cheated on her with none other than Lavender Brown, apparently not getting his fill when they dated in sixth year. She choked out a strangled sob and dropped her face into her hands.

Hermione didn't know how it happened. She thought they were at a good place in their relationship. There wasn't anything that she wouldn't do for him. She changed for him too, into the perfect person for him. And yet, he still cheated on her. She probably should have seen it coming, with the late night Quidditch practices. She didn't give it a second thought though, since it gave her more time for work at the Ministry. She thought with how distracted he acted lately around her was due to the Cannons making it to the finals for the Quidditch World Cup.

She should have known that after four years of dating and no ring on her finger that he wasn't _that_ serious about her. She should have figured it out when the homewrecker shot Ron simpering looks whenever he was around. She definitely knew that he was a cheater when she walked in on the two of them snogging like the world was going to end in _their_ flat last night. Merlin, she felt like such an idiot.

The tongue lashing that she gave him was nothing compared to how she left his flat. Good thing the lease was in his name. He should be the one to pay for the damages, after all. And Lavender would be wearing those wonderful purple blotches for at least two weeks.

She struggled to gain her composure when she heard a knock on her office door. Wiping away her tears, she murmured a weak cleaning spell for her face, hoping that it made her look more presentable.

"Come in," she muttered as she hastily threw all the tissues that littered her desk into the rubbish bin.

Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed as her guest entered. She should have known that Draco Malfoy would come snooping around. She knew that he had changed since their days at Hogwarts, and he had even become like a friend to her. She also knew that he was abnormally curious about everything having to do with the affairs of others…probably an effect from his days a pureblood socialite.

He raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender when he noticed her look. "I come in peace, Granger. I was just wondering if you had finished the Boot case yet."

Sighing heavily, she shuffled some papers around until she managed to find the file he wanted. She handed it to him and turned around to try to find something to occupy her time so he could leave. When she didn't hear her door closing, she glanced back at him. "Do you need something else, Malfoy?"

"Don't beat yourself about it, Granger. He's not worth it."

"What do you know, _Malfoy_?"

"A lot. Was always second best to you in grades at Hogwarts." His teasing tone caught her attention. She turned around to face him, crossing her arms over her chest and leveling him with a glare.

"Alright, then, what do you know about my situation?"

He chuckled, silvery eyes shining. "I know that Dickface isn't worth your time. I know that you're probably going to beat yourself up about it, saying that it was your fault in this mess. I know that you deserve better." He walked toward her, stopping when he reached her desk. "And, I know that while you are a very clever witch, sometimes you don't see what's right in front of you."

She met his gaze as a tear trickled down her cheek. He smiled, an actual smile, and gently wiped the tear away. "When you change your mind, Hermione, I'm still free. Take a chance on me."

Her eyes widened as he caressed her cheek one last time and left her office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: This was inspired by "Gimme Gimme Gimme" by ABBA. Keep that in mind (or listen to it) while reading the fic. Also, please read the Author's note at the end of this too.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter. I do not own the song by ABBA either. If I did, I could afford to buy more Harry Potter gear.

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Hermione sighed heavily as she flopped onto the couch in her living room. Ginny cancelled their girls' night plans since Harry had an unexpected free night. Hermione could understand, she really could, but honestly, she was pretty put out and tired of being the third wheel. As she curled up on the comfortable cushions, she flipped on a random talk show on the telly and glanced outside. As usual, clouds covered the night sky as the wind shook the windows slightly.

She was so tired of the pitying looks from her coworkers. She was tired of the reporters wanting her side of the story. She was tired of Lavender shoving the whole affair in her face. Most of all, she was tired of her friends tiptoeing around the situation, saying Ron would come around, Ron was so sorry…they never asked what she wanted. What if she didn't want to go back to Ron? After this whole fiasco, she didn't even think she wanted to be friends with Ron anymore. He purposely let Lavender shove their new relationship in her face and didn't stop her when she pranced around him like a vapid schoolgirl.

She sighed and grabbed the nearest pillow, clutching it like a lifeline. The only one who seemed to really care was Malfoy, which in and of itself was slightly out of character. Ever since that moment in her office a couple months prior, he had been more attentive to her. Nothing huge, just casual touches, secret smiles, stimulating conversations. But at least he wasn't trying to pry, figure out her feelings, or push her back to Ron.

No one even cared that her beloved feline passed away about two weeks ago. Crookshanks lived a long and healthy life, but he was an older cat. She held a small funeral for him by his favorite tree at Hogwarts (after getting special permission from the current Headmistress). At least Hagrid came by to give his condolences. She thought Draco might have noticed her depressed mood lately, but she tried covering it with a smile.

Nights like these made her really miss her part Kneazle creature. He always loved curling up in her lap and purring as loud as he could. She sniffed as a tear fell down her cheek and gripped her pillow harder. Why did Ginny have to cancel tonight of all nights?

She was startled when her fireplace blazed to life. Grabbing her wand, she ducked behind the couch as a figure emerged. Peaking over the back, she saw the figure move to her location. She thought she recognized the gait, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She muttered a quick stunning spell and shot up to see who it was. She wasn't expecting the intruder to have quick reflexes or to use a shield spell. She really wasn't expecting to get hit by her own stunning spell. Hermione dropped to the floor with a thud, while her mind began working in over drive.

She knew she couldn't panic, even though her pulse was pounding in her ears. Her wandless magic wasn't the greatest, though she tried the counterspell at least a dozen times before the intruder's face swam in her vision.

"Granger? Merlin, you scared me," came a familiar voice along with the counterspell.

"Dammit, Malfoy, what the _hell_ are you doing in my flat?" she shouted as she shot up off the floor, trying to quell her adrenaline spike. Her hands were shaking wildly as she began pacing the floor. She glared at the man standing by her fireplace, seemingly looking ashamed. She stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Answer my question. What are you doing in my flat? At this time of night?" she questioned, glancing at the clock. It was already a little after midnight.

He had the decency to look embarrassed. "I came to check on you."

"Check on me? Unannounced? _In the middle of the night_?!" she shot back venomously. "You're lucky I just tried a stunning spell on you!"

"I did affectively block that, I'll have you know."

She shrieked in frustration, a half a dozen unpleasant spells popping into her mind. "And why the _hell_ didn't you owl me first?"

"I…didn't think of that," he replied sheepishly, running a hand through his platinum blonde locks. She sighed heavily as her heart rate began to slow. She left him by the fireplace and flopped back onto the couch, assuming her original position. She glared at him when he entered her line of vision.

"What?" she growled as he arranged himself next to her.

"I honestly was just coming to check up on you. Potter mentioned that he stole the Weaselette again from your girls' night and that you've been acting off for a while."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself. It takes more than another night of cancelled plans to really get to me."

"I realize. That's why I'm here. I want to know what's going on."

"Like you care," she muttered under her breath. Her breath caught when his arm draped across her shoulders.

"Hermione, please tell me what's wrong." She looked over at him and saw the sincerity that shone in his silvery eyes. Dropping his gaze, she told him everything that was bothering her. The incidents with Ron and Lavender, the pity from just about everyone, the unfairness in the whole situation. She carefully omitted that she was battling her own feelings about him (wait, when did that happen?), but did mention the passing of Crookshanks. He stayed silent throughout the whole thing, which Hermione appreciated. She paused for a moment as a thought flew across her mind.

"How did you get here? I mean, obviously by Floo, but I only have certain people with access to it at this time of the night."

He chuckled. "I stopped by Potter's earlier. For some reason, he really wanted me out of his place and practically threw me at the fireplace to get here." At this Hermione chuckled. Silence over took the two and she began to nod off. She completely forgot that Malfoy had his arm around her until his grip tightened.

"I really miss Crookshanks," she muttered as a tear trickled down her cheek once more. She sighed and returned his embrace, glad to have the comfort of anyone right now. She ignored the fact that he stiffened for a few seconds, deciding to bury her face into his chest.

"Thank you for coming tonight, Draco."

Shutting her eyes, she gradually relaxed as sleep began to overtake her. The last thing she remembered was slight pressure on the top of her head before her dreams overtook her.

Hermione awoke reluctantly the next morning feeling a little disoriented. She blinked the sleep away from her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings. During the middle of the night, she somehow managed to crawl into her bed. She groaned as the memories from the previous night returned. Flushing, she burrowed her face into her pillow. She felt like such an idiot, throwing herself at Malfoy last night. He must have thought she was one of those bints that fawned over him everywhere he went. She groaned and hit her head repeatedly on her pillow. However, she stopped when she heard a crinkling noise nearby. Glancing to her right on the extra space near her pillow was a note.

_Granger,_

_Thank you for the fascinating conversation. You are adorable when you fall asleep, although you do snore. Loudly. See you soon._

_Draco_

_P.S. Her name is Lyra._

The last part caught her attention. "What in the world is he talking about?" she questioned under her breath. She rolled out of bed and stumbled in the hallway, note clutched in her hand. Sitting primly on her couch was a little grey tabby kitten with a pink bow wrapped around her neck. Bright hazel eyes blinked up at Hermione.

"Mreow."

"Oh my goodness, he got me a cat." A small smile formed as the little kitten jumped off of the couch and made its way to her feet. Lyra sat down a few inches in front of Hermione and looked up expectedly. Laughing, she picked up the kitten, holding her a few inches from her face.

"Lyra, huh? What an interesting name for a kitten," she said, smiling as said kitten began rubbing her furry face against Hermione's cheek. "La question est ce que je fais."

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**Author's Note cont.**: So, the French phrase that Hermione's says means "The question is what do I do", loosely based off of the other ABBA song "Voulez Vous".

Lyra is a constellation that is bordered by Draco. I felt like that was a fitting name.

So I am having a dilemma on how to finish this mini-series. I'd like to finish it with another ABBA song to fit the theme of these past couple ones, but I'm out of ideas on how to finish the last chapter for it. If anyone has any suggestions about a theme or what I should include or anything, I would love to hear from you.


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